Amoeba Hollywood was the place to be on a rainy Los Angeles afternoon in March. Our pal, Brently Heilbron, made for the most hilarious stream-of-pop-consciousness hour ever! And it was all for a cause that has special meaning to us as we were raising money for two New Orleans charities.

Our March charity auction benefitted the ongoing work still needed in New Orleans via two amazing organizations, Tipitina's Foundation and the New Orleans Musicians Assistance Foundation (NOMAF). Their services grew even more vital out of the damage done during Hurricane Katrina and they both continue to do great work with and for the musicians in New Orleans. The rich musical and cultural heritage of New Orleans is a unique part of the core of American music--from Jazz to Rock and Roll; from Country to Hip-Hop. We encourage you to learn more about what they do and the musicians they've helped.

Mr. Heilbron, the original host (and originator) of our charity auctions, made a triumphant return appearance at our auction on Saturday, March 1, sending the rain-drenched onlookers into peels of laughter with his random delightful musings. Musings about such things as the political and social impact of the greatest movie of all time (Goonies) and the bestband of all time (Spin Doctors) and everything in between. His encyclopedic knowledge of music and pop culture made for grins and giggles as he regaled the crowd and hyped up a slew of wonderful items. The crowd ate it up!

A record number of people came to celebrate Amoeba Hollywood’s annual Fat Tuesday celebration. This year saw TheDirty Dozen Brass Band perform live and lead the annual Second Line Parade down the aisles of Amoeba.

The band brought New Orleans cheer to the store, getting the family-friendly audience dancing in the aisles with their influential funk-infused jazz style. Some attendees showed up in Mardi Gras costume, including a quartet of girls in white dresses spattered with fake blood — maybe it’s a True Blood thing, I’m not sure.

While homemade floats, masks and beads floated around the audience, the extraordinary musicianship on display wasn’t lost on the audience. A sax solo introduced the band’s second song, breaking out into a drum solo before returning to the song and drawing huge applause. They got the audience clapping to what I thought was a standup bass but was actually DDBB’s tuba player playing a rubbery bassline. They thanked the audience and Amoeba as they capped off 36 years as a band before leading everyone through a parade while playing “When the Saints Go Marching In” up and down the aisles.

Amoeba is distributing The Congo Square Project Foundation: Sacred Ground Vols. 1 and 2, the first two of six planned volumes tracing the development of New Orleans music, with all proceeds of the sale benefiting New Orleans relief efforts. Additionally, a portion of all proceeds for the day (including sales on Amoeba.com) went to Tipitina’s Foundation, which seeks to preserve Louisiana and New Orleans’ musical heritage, and New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic, which is dedicated to providing affordable healthcare to New Orleans musicians. A total of $3,000 was donated from Amoeba's revenue Feb. 12, adding to the $1,400 raised through a charity auction held at Amoeba Hollywood Feb. 2 ($700 was raised from auction sales, with a $700 match from Amoeba), for a combined total of $4,400 sent to the two charities.

And we are once again giving away a free download from this newest volume. Yes, even though we are practically giving away the full album for only $5.99 (Note: with all proceeds going to NOLA) we are also giving away completely free download tracks at no cost. Last week Amoeba gave away a free download copy of "Shallow Water" by The Young Guardians of The Flame off Vol 1, and this week we are offering for free download a copy of "Down by the Riverside" by Washboard Chaz.
This weekend, between studio sessions, I caught up again with Fabian to ask him specifically about these two free download tracks from the Sacred Ground Volumes 1 and 2 in the six-part Congo Square Project Foundation series being sold exclusively by Amoeba Music. Regarding the free download being launched this week, "Down by the Riverside" by Washboard Chaz, Fabian notes that this traditional gospel song, that was first published almost a full century ago but written many years before that, has also gone by such other titles as "Gonna Lay Down My Burden" and "Ain't Gonna Study War No More" and been recorded numerous times over the years by various artists. "One night I was walking the streets of New Orleans taking musical Polaroids, trying to do my best Alan Lomax impersonation, when I heard the colorful Washboard Chaz play his rendition of this Black gospel plantation classic singing, "I ain't go study war no more, study war no more, ain't go study oh war no more. Gonna lay down my sword and shield. Down by the riverside…" To Fabian these lyrics, sung by a Woody Guthrie type traditionalist, seemed perfectly in tune with the current political/economic climate. "I immediately invited him to come on-board the project," said Fabian, quickly noting how, "[I] wished politicians could learn to sing that wise song too!"

Every year Amoeba kicks off Mardi Gras with a Fat Tuesday celebration, and this year once again a portion of the proceeds from all three Amoeba stores will benefit relief efforts in New Orleans.

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band

Taking place Feb. 12, the celebration will include a performance by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band at 2 p.m., DJs spinning New Orleans sounds starting at 1pm and our annual Second Line Parade follwing DDBB. The family-friendly event draws crowds every year.

This year Amoeba will be exclusively distributing the CD Congo Square Vol. 1, the first of six planned volumes tracing the development of New Orleans music, with all proceeds of the sale benefiting New Orleans relief efforts. Read more about The Congo Square Project in Billyjam’s interview with Congo Square producer Fabian Jolivet. Additionally we invite you to check out Amoeba.com’s Vinyl Vaults, featuring more than 100 remastered songs by blues great Louis Armstrong, from the years 1923 to 1932, many exclusively available from Amoeba to download for the first time ever. Read more about our Louis Armstrong archives here.

It may now be eight years since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast but that does not mean that Amoeba Music has in any way abandoned its continued commitment to doing its bit in the still much needed recovery and rebuilding in the area. On the contrary; we've up the ante, and so this Fat Tuesday (Feb 12th) Amoeba invites you to celebrate Mardi Gras in style with us while simultaneously helping the city of New Orleans in its long, slow uphill road to recovery and rebuilding - with a portion of proceeds from all sales at Amoeba on Fat Tuesday going directly to NOLA and benefitting Tippitina's Foundation and the New Orleans Musician's Clinic. For Fat Tuesday at Amoeba Hollywood there will be big celebration that will include a very special performance by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band (they play UCLA later that night with Allen Toussaint), DJs spinning rich diverse mixes of New Orleans music, plus another popular Line Parade (see video below of last year's Line Parade at Amoeba Hollywood). And in its continued homage to New Orleans as cultural center of American music and in helping preserve and protect its musical legacy, Amoeba.com's Vinyl Vaults now feature more than a hundred remastered rare songs (circa 1923-1932) of N.O. legend Louis Armstrong. Additionally Amoeba will exclusively be distributing six volunteer/benefit releases compiled/produced by Fabian Jolivet for The Congo Square Project Foundation with all proceeds benefiting New Orleans relief efforts.